DIY: Glass in Disposal!

Well, I’m not one to call a repairman at the drop of a hat. A few times I’ve thought a repair may be outside of my knowledge base. However, then they come to my house and it takes them 30 minutes or less to fix and I kick myself at the money I just threw out the window. I now thoroughly research items and at least attempt to fix the problem. All I can say is, I love YouTube and Google.

I broke a glass about a week ago and some shards went into the garbage disposal. I (very carefully) pulled out what I could gently feel. However, when I turned on the disposal it churned a few times and then gave me a dreaded hum. I knew I had either jammed it or burned out the motor. I quickly turned it off, plugged the hole (because I’m the type to absentmindedly use it while cooking), and made a mental note to search for a solution.

A week later, I felt armed for the task at hand which really seemed unbelievable easy. I vacuumed into the hole to pick up any possible glass specks (a Shop Vac was the suggested tool, but I just used my regular vacuum since the disposal was dry and had been unused for a week). Then I got out my handy Allen Wrench/Hex Key tool (seen below).

I unplugged my disposal and went underneath to the bottom of the disposal. Find the correct size key and turn it around multiple times in the below circled keyhole.

Once I heard the glass breaking up, I vacuumed out the top sink hole again, then repeated this process a few more times until I didn’t hear the glass breaking up and the key turned smoothly. Afterwards I plugged back in my disposal, turned it on and ran the water, and voila, no more jammed disposal. And I just saved myself a $75 service fee. Life is good!